Microsoft is currently doing everything it can to convince the various market regulators that the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard will not pose a problem for the industry, despite what Sony and Jim Ryan think. If the bulk of the fight will take place in the United States and Europe, Microsoft must confront regulators in many countries, and has just win a small victory in Brazilgiven that the country approved the takeover.
A new milestone
Like the VGC report, the Brazilian regulatory body, otherwise known as Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE)chose to approve the acquisition without any further request or clarification.
The organization immediately spoke on the subject call of dutystating that the loyalty of PlayStation gamers will arguably outweigh their loyalty to the series:
“ Given the huge popularity of Call of Duty, it’s reasonable to infer that if Activision Blizzard games were no longer available on Sony consoles, PlayStation users might decide to migrate to Xbox, or even PC, to continue to have access to franchise games. On another side, it’s also reasonable to assume that if upcoming Call of Duty games become exclusive to the Microsoft ecosystem, gamers loyal to the PlayStation brand might simply drop out of the series.migrating to other games available on their favorite console. »
The potential exclusivity of call of duty is therefore not a problem for CADEwho states that this system of exclusivity is anyway what allows Sony and Nintendo to be market leaders:
” As already seen, Nintendo does not currently rely on any content from Activision Blizzard to compete in this market. In turn, Sony has been the world’s leading brand for over 20 yearswith extensive industry experience, larger user base, larger console install base, robust catalog of exclusive games, multi-publisher partnerships, brand-loyal consumers, and more, which should help keep PlayStation competitive in a possible post-operation scenario, even in the face of possible loss of access to Activision Blizzard content »
No risk for the market according to regulators
CADE concludes its report by stating that its purpose is not to protect the interests of a company, but of consumers.and that in this sense, the takeover would not lead to an imbalance in the competition between Microsoft and Sony:
” Furthermore, it is important to point out that the central objective of CADE’s activities is the protection of competition as a means of promoting the well-being of Brazilian consumers, and not the defense of the particular interests of specific competitors […] In this sense, although it is recognized that some users of PlayStation consoles (from Sony) could decide to migrate to Xbox in the event that Activision Blizzard games – and in particular Call of Duty – become exclusive to the Microsoft ecosystem, CADE does not believe that such a possibility represents, in itself, a risk for competition in the console market as a whole. »
One could almost believe that this conclusion is directly addressed to Jim Ryan and Sony, who must now cross their fingers that other regulators do not come to the same conclusion.